How do you say hello / thank you in Morocco?

These are the two words I'd tattoo on every traveller's hand if I could. Hello is salam (sah-LAAM) — it's the friendly short form of the fuller greeting salam alaikum ('peace be upon you'). If someone greets you with the full salam alaikum, the warm reply is walaikum salam ('and upon you, peace'). You'll hear this exchange dozens of times a day; joining in instantly marks you as someone who's paying attention.

Thank you is shukran (SHOO-kran). To really mean it — after a beautiful meal, a generous gesture, a driver who went the extra mile — say shukran bezzaf (SHOO-kran be-ZAAF), 'thank you very much'. If you want to add grace, barak Allahu fik ('may God bless you') is a heartfelt thank-you you'll hear from older Moroccans, and it lands beautifully when offered back. A simple shukran with a hand briefly over your heart is pure, understood everywhere.

The flip side is just as useful: la shukran (laa SHOO-kran) — 'no, thank you'. This is your gentle, polite decline for the persistent vendor, the third cup of tea, or the henna offer in the square. Said with a smile and a hand on the heart, it's firm but warm, and far more effective than ignoring someone. I use it constantly and it almost always works.

One lovely detail: greetings here are unhurried. A Moroccan hello often expands into 'salam, la bas? (all well?), kif dayer? (how's it going?)' before any business begins — and the answer is usually hamdullah ('praise be to God'), whatever the truth. Don't rush past it. Returning a greeting properly, even haltingly, is the first small act of respect that opens every door in this country.